Medina County Health Commissioner Krista Wasowski displays a Project DAWN kit. The kits provide doses of Naloxone -- an opioid overdose antidote -- that families of heroin addicts can use to help save their loved ones' lives.

(Ann Norman, special to cleveland.com)

MEDINA, Ohio - It can be a helpless feeling watching a loved one struggle with opioid addiction. Witnessing an overdose can be downright terrifying.

Participants learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose, make an emergency 911 call, perform rescue breathing and administer Naloxone (also known as Narcan) to someone experiencing an opioid overdose.

So far, 11 people have taken part in the training, which the Health Department began offering in November.

"A lot of times, we're the first people that families talk to about a loved one's addiction," said Dianne Burris, one of three registered nurses at the Health Department trained to run the Project DAWN program.

She said knowing how to administer Naloxone provides families with peace of mind.

"They tell us that it's just so much of a relief, knowing that they can do something," Burris said.

Medina County officials first started talking about it last summer, as the number of opioid overdoses continued to rise locally.

"We were seeing overdose deaths. We had 11 in 2013. In 2014, we had 17 that were heroin-related," Wasowski said.

First responders in Medina County carry Narcan with them and are trained to administer it to people who have overdosed.

The Health Department decided it was time to expand that training to family and friends of people with addictions.

"Our goal as a health department is to prolong life and improve health," Wasowski said. "So last summer, we said, let's really look at this. Even if we just have a couple people."

While people could travel to surrounding counties for the same service, Wasowski said the department wanted to make getting help more convenient and less stressful.

"It's readily available, and it's free. We wanted it to be convenient, close to home. Transportation is already difficult for some people within our county, and we didn't want there to be any barrier to saving people's lives," she said.

She said it gives people a sense of security to know that support is close at hand, and in a place many county residents already are familiar with and where they feel comfortable.

"We have a strong relationship with our cities and townships. People know who we are as a health department," she said.

Wasowski said professionals and residents alike are becoming more aware of the heroin addiction problem in the county and are talking more openly about it.

"I think the thing with heroin that is kind of frightening to people is that it could (happen to) anyone," she said.

"It can start as simple as a prescription and lead in time into heroin or Fentanyl," she said.

Another sobering reality about opioid addiction is that people are most at risk of overdosing after trying to get clean. Many overdoses occur after someone has spent some time in a drug rehabilitation program and has a relapse.

"All of us here are parents. We understand about having a child, of any age, and worrying about whether an addiction could take their lives," Wasowski said.

"We're really trying to target and make sure that the people highest at risk are protected," she said.

Project DAWN started out small, with the Health Department reaching out to area mental health agencies, the courts and addiction support groups. This month, they contracted with Alternative Paths to serve people in the jail system who are at risk and their families.

And they are starting to push the word out to the general public, through social media and word of mouth.

Wasowski wants to reassure people that the program is confidential and judgment-free.

While Project DAWN participants are required to bring photo identification, all information is kept confidential and known only to three people within the Health Department, Burris said.

This allows the department to keep track of who has received training and contact people if the Naloxone is about to expire.

Burris said they don't ask for the addicted person's name, but they do need a basic health history to be aware of any extra risk factors.

During the training, the nurse will go through the kit and explain everything. She will show how to use the atomizer and administer the Naloxone, as well as walk participants through the basics of rescue breathing.

"We kind of play out a scenario and let them work with a tester kit, so that they can get comfortable with it," Burris said.

They also show a video, provide them with a packet of information about places in the county to get help, send home a CD reference guide and a flip-book of step-by-step instructions, and tell them what to do if they need to refill the Naloxone kit if it is used, broken or lost.

Burris said the appointments usually last about 45 minutes. Some people want to get through it quickly, but others spend a little more time.

"Some people really need to talk about what's going on in their lives," she said.

Naloxone works by binding to the opioid to prevent the user from getting high. It usually works quickly, within five minutes, and but can wear off in about 30 minutes.

That's why it's important for family members or friends to call 911 immediately, before administering the drug. Follow-up medical care is a must, as overdoses can result in a number of complications, she said.

Naloxone only works on opioids - it won't counter the effects of overdoses from other drugs. It also is harmless if it turns out that a person isn't overdosing from an opiate.

"It's not a total fix, but it's a great stepping stone to get people some help," Burris said.